


To Be A Parent

by vaderina



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, Get Together, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, Telephone Conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 12:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: Percival likes to keep in touch with his mother, to let her know how things are going for him and ask how she's doing. They catch up once a week over the telephone where he tells her about the awful new consultant that's just started working for MACUSA.





	To Be A Parent

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta read.  
> Characters do not belong to me - only the typos and mistakes.

The funny fact about being a parent is that even when your child is grown up, has a prestigious job and lives in a different city to you, the worry never stops. Being a parent is a lifelong job with no breaks. Percival had insisted that his mother get a telephone as soon as it was possible. The no-maj invention was surprisingly useful to have and they spoke on an almost weekly basis if Percival’s job permitted them to have the time. It was Friday evening and as per usual the phone rang.

“Hello Ma.” Percival’s voice rumbled down the line.

“Percy, how have you been?” His mother smiled at hearing her son’s voice. If she closed her eyes she could almost hear the echoes of her husband hiding in his turns of phrase and the lilt of his voice.

“The usual and then some.” He sounded irritated and tired, more so than she would have expected of him. Last week he hadn’t mentioned any big case and the news hadn’t brought anything up either. So something in the office then.

“One of those weeks?” she asked. The depreciative huff she got in return sounded like something he’d been holding in all week.

“Had a new consultant start. He is infuriating. Won’t stick to the rules, challenges every protocol and law. And everyone seems to love him!” Percy cried out, his frustration getting the better of him.

“He does sound like a handful. Why is he being kept on if he’s more trouble than he’s worth?”

Their conversation fell into an old pattern. Percival would rant and rave while his mother listened and questioned. There were occasions when their roles would be reversed and Percival would be the pillar his mother could lean against in troubled times. But he was still her son and she wanted to shield him from the worst of the world even if his job meant all he sometimes saw was the cesspit of humanity.

“Somehow he always makes things work out. It’s unconventional, against all protocols and rules. He’s a menace and it is only by the grace of fate that he’s working for us rather than rotting in a cell. He drives me insane I swear. He won’t comply with the dress code, half the time he’s falling asleep in meetings because he’s been out half the night chasing down beasts. Don’t get me started on his personal collection of vicious creatures. He says they’re harmless but I don’t trust a man who rode dragons to make that assessment. He tried to convince me that the nundu he was walking around with was a giant softy, a kitten he said! A kitten!” Percival ranted.

“Sounds bothersome.” There was a smile in her voice, a warmth that almost spilled into laughter barely held in.

“And don’t get me started on his unruly looks. That man has no standards. He’s never brushed his hair, there are always at least two creatures on his person – illegally may I add. He is almost always covered in fur so every time he moves he erupts in a small explosion of hairs that end up covering the nearest people and things. I don’t know how many times I’ve picked out questionable fur from my coffee.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t stand so close to him?”

“Someone has to keep an eye on him! He’s a menace!” Percival grumbled. “And his freckles are so distracting, I try to caution him, write him and he just stands there either smiling like he’s in on some great cosmic joke or he looks like a puppy who’s stolen something and knows they shouldn’t have. And when he gets worried his freckles stand out, he bites his lips. Nobody expects him to then suddenly explode into some weird and twisted manoeuvre that not only takes everyone by surprise but also  somehow miraculously ends with fewer casualties than expected and he still gets his beasts. I don’t know what to do about him. He drives me mad.”

“Ask him out for a coffee.” The reply was quiet, soft and the disbelieving silence that followed it almost had Percival’s mother laughing.

“You what now?” came the eventual reply.

“It’s quite simple. If he vexes you so then he must take up a lot of your thinking time. Get to know him, see why he is so peculiar to you. You did say everyone else loves him after all.”

“It’s because he’s so charming and looks so hopeless. He fumbles, his creatures escape all the time, and I’ve had to buy a bag of trinkets to at least keep his bloody niffler at bay from my watch. People coo over him and his mishaps. Well I don’t. I think it’s infuriating and he needs to buck up his ideas if he wants to continue on as a consultant.”

This time his mother did laugh, gently without any malice.

“If you say so dear.”

“Don’t patronise me woman.” Her son groused, it made her laugh even more.

“You know, you sound just like your father at times. Just take this consultant of yours out for a coffee over the course of next week. Perhaps the two of you will see more eye to eye than you would initially believe.”

Her son grumbled and muttered under his breath but seemed to drop the topic. There were some things that he would argue over for hours on end but when it came to some matters he’d leave it well enough along as soon as he realised there was nothing he could say to dissuade his mother.

Friday nights were their time. Percival didn’t have the chance to visit as often as he’d have liked and his mother wasn’t quite up for the regular travel as she’d once been. Still, with the telephones they could keep up to date, no need to fire-call in the height of the summer and suffer a stiflingly warm house for the rest of the night just to talk.

“Hello Ma.” Percival greeted as soon as she’d picked the phone up.

“Percy, how’s your week been?” she asked warmly.

“Fine.” He sounded like he was dragging his heels in saying something and she had a good idea what it was.

“Did you go on your date with your consultant?”

“It wasn’t a date!” The denial was quick, too quick and the silence that followed was almost awkward.

“How did it go?”

“It wasn’t a date.” Despite what many people believed Percival was capable of whining like a child. His mother smiled but didn’t respond. Eventually Percival gave in and began recounting what had happened.

“It wasn’t a date. It was a meeting over a coffee. I told him my frustrations and he promised to try and behave better. That’s all that happened.”

“Uhuh.” His mother encouraged him to continue, she found it difficult to believe that that was all there was to the story.

“Even over coffee he still fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. But it turned out it wasn’t his sleeve he was tugging but rather the tail of a swooping evil that has decided to make a home in there. A swooping evil! The name alone tells you enough about the nature of the beast yet this idiot lets it live in his sleeve. It eats brains for crying out loud. Brains! It’s probably already eaten Newt’s because he sure as heck wouldn’t keep it up his sleeve if he had half a mind.”

“Newt, that’s an unusual name.”

“Don’t get me started on it. Newton Artemis Fido Scamander. He’s named after his mother’s hippogriffs! I think that says a lot about the family on the whole.”

“His name sounds oddly familiar all the same.” Percival’s mother probed gently.

“Related to Theseus Scamander. In all the time I’ve known him I’ve figured he isn’t quite right in the head either. Must run in the family.”

“Now don’t be rude.” His mother admonished.

“Urgh. Fine. Anyway, over coffee Newt explained how he works with the creatures, offered me a tour of his highly illegal suitcase whenever I want and was trying so stupidly hard to be nice. But I won’t fall for his ploy. I can see through his act. This is how he lures people in. And at the end he had the gall to say he had a nice time! And that we should do it again!”

“And what did you say?”

“Someone has to keep him in line so I said yes!” Percival sounded so affronted that his mother laughed.

“Whatever helps you sleep easier at night oh sweet child of mine.”

“Don’t mock me.”

“So when’s your next date?”

“It’s not a date!” Percival whinged.

“Whatever you say dear.”

Another week rolled by but this time the phone stayed silent on the Friday evening. It was a rarity not to catch up with each other but Percival’s mother didn’t worry. If something drastic had happened she would have heard from someone already. The phone rang on Saturday afternoon just as she was finishing up watering her plants. She grinned and went to answer.

“Sorry I didn’t call last night Ma.” Her son said in way of greeting. “I got held up.”

“I figured something had come up. Want to tell me about it?” she settled into the comfortable chair next to the phone. Something told her she may be there for a little while.

“I finally made time yesterday afternoon to go into Newt’s case. We couldn’t schedule a time for another coffee meeting but I still needed to catch up with him. Make sure he hadn’t broken any more laws purely by existing. I swear the constellations of his freckles break at least three laws by just being. And his hair a further two. Nobody should have such messy hair in a government office.”

A chuckle from his mother stopped him mid rant.

“Did you have something say?” he asked daintily.

“No no. Carry on. Please.” His mother held back on her laughter.

“So anyway, I went into the infernal case. It’s as bad as expected if not worse. Creatures free to wander around, no tracking system. No log book to keep count of the inhabitants. I asked him how many beasts he has, do you know what he said?” Percival didn’t wait for an answer before he steamrolled on. “Depending on whether I wanted to count insects like billywigs then somewhere between a few hundred and a few thousand. This man, who has been granted special dispensation for the creatures in his case doesn’t even know what he’s got in there! How outrageous is that?”

He waited for a reaction which took some time coming. In his rant his voice had pitched higher and higher and his mother knew him well enough to picture the phone cradled between his shoulder and ear so he could wave both arms around to illustrate his points.”

“It is very very outrageous.” She deadpanned. “What can you do about it?”

“I’ve said to him we need to categorise and record every creature and plant he has in there. So next week, for as long as it takes each evening I will be going down into that case with him and documenting everything. So chances are next Friday evening I’ll be down there counting diricrawls and who knows what else because the man is incompetent when it comes to proper paperwork.”

“Well, if it takes that long perhaps you might need the weekend too. Take a picnic basket with you, wouldn’t want you going hungry in there, would we? And maybe wear your midnight blue suit for a change.”

“What are you blathering on about you daft old woman? You make it sound like it will be a date.” Percival’s voice was light and teasing, it lacked any real heat to make his words bite.

“Just ignore your poor old mother’s ramblings. She’s only trying to look out for her dear little son.”

“Little your-” Percival laughed.

“Language young man! I’m still your mother and I can still wash your mouth out with soap regardless of being Head of DMLE or anything else.”

“I’d still out apparate you.” She could almost see him sticking his tongue out cheekily, if he’d been closer she’d have lovingly slapped the back of his head in jest.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I’d hide behind Seraphina, she’d protect me from your abuse. Anyway, how was your week?”

“She wouldn’t protect you, she has far too much respect for me and knows you too well to know that whatever was coming your way you’d deserve.”

The conversation turned away from Newt at that point onto the more everyday concerns. Over the next few weeks there’s very little mention of Newt and only ever in the passing. Percival avoids the topic shyly, his voice goes soft and gentle whenever Newt’s name is mentioned before he can push on to an emotionally safer topic. His mother lets him, trusting him to mention things again if they turn serious or if he needs advice. Another Friday night call is missed and on Saturday the phone remains silent. She knows better than to assume the worst but part of her still worries, heart winning out over head when she reached to the phone and dialled the familiar number. It rings and rings before a voice picks it up.

“Hello?” the man asks tentatively. He has a soft British accent which makes her take the phone from her ear to look at it. She was sure she had dialled the correct number.

“Is Percival there?” she asked instead.

“Just a second, I’ll get him for you.” There’s a rustle of a hand covering the speaker before the man hollered.

“Percy, there’s a woman on the phone for you!” It made her smile, a nickname that few people got to use with her son. There’s some mumblings in the background, she can make out Percival’s grumbling and some giggling before her son takes the phone.

“Hello?” he asks.

“Am I interrupting anything?” his mother doesn’t introduce herself, if her own son can’t recognise her after so many years then shame on him.

“What? No. No. We were just.” Percival trails off and giggles. There’s some laughter coming from somewhere near him too and she just rolls her eyes. Young love. “Sorry Ma. Uhm. You okay?” his voice is still breathless with barely contained mirth.

“Just checking you were still okay. I’ll leave you to it though, call me when you have a bit of time. Everything is fine though, so no rush.”

“Thanks Ma. Talk to you soon.” The phone went down before she could even reply. It made her blink in surprise. Young love. As wonderful and adorable as it could be it could also be infuriating and a bit sickening.

It shouldn’t have surprised her when the phone rang later that evening. Percival sounded a lot more put together and serious. Obviously Newt was a good influence on him. Sometimes she worried that he took too much on and didn’t actually live his own life enough.

“Sorry about this morning Ma.” He began.

“I caught you at the wrong moment. I just hadn’t heard from you on Friday or Saturday. It does sound like you’re doing just fine though.”

“Things are going well, yeah.” She knew her son enough to picture the tips of his ears coloured a delicate pink and he’d be glancing down at his shoes. If she’d been less of a nosy mother she’d have left the topic but it was just too tantalising to not probe.

“How’s the consultant settling in?”

“Good.” Percival laughed. “Really good.”

“Still annoying you?”

“Ma. Don’t play the idiot. You know very well that that’s not the case anymore.” Sometimes Percival indulged her, usually when things weren’t serious. So it took her by surprise that he wasn’t willing to play along. It had only been a few weeks that they’d been dating, he can’t be serious about it already.

“I like him.” Percival offered out of the blue. “I really do.”

His voice had turned soft, a little far away as he thought about Newt.

“Does he know?” she asked.

“I should hope so.”

“Well, have you told him? Or are you expecting him to be a legilimens?”

An ungainly snort was the first answer she got.

“Unless you want sordid details please just assume that he knows full well just how much I like him.”

“Yes, but does he know outside of the bedroom that you like him?” she was relentless. “Just sucking his dick isn’t going to get the message across. Even if you do it in the kitchen or a dirty alley. You need to use your words.”

“Mother!” Percival gasped, scandalised.

“Don’t you mother me. Just because I’m getting on doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the facts of life. How did you think you came into being? I didn’t exactly find you in the middle of a cabbage in the garden.”

“No, you liked telling me I was too much trouble for the stork to take me to my intended destination so it just dumped me in your perfectly grown wilderness you called garden. Did the neighbours ever really give up on the notion that I was a deformed garden gnome you and Dad adopted?” Percival teased fondly.

“Don’t try to change the topic my little gnomeo. I want to make sure you’re happy with your Newtliet.”

A beat of silence followed before Percival, ever so softly hummed.

“Yes, I’m happy.”

“Then I’m happy too. Bring him down for dinner when you’re both free if you’d like.”

“Thanks. I might just take you up on that you know. I think he’s something special.”

It took all of her self-control not to coo over the softness of his voice. Hearing him so gentled by love was a rare occurrence and in no way did she want to make him feel self-conscious about it. Still, it was adorable.

Life was hectic for them all. Percival and Newt had jobs that required them to work strange times almost every other week while Percival’s mother had commitments and prior engagements she couldn’t easily cancel. They still had their weekly phone calls through which she gleaned precious bits of information about Newt. Other than her first impressions of the man – British, loves all creatures and has a wildly reckless streak he also has a penchant to look less than fully presentable without caring about it. But the stories Percival regaled her with also hinted at a patient man who had a bottomless heart capable of finding beauty in even the most repulsive of things. Privately she thought they were a good match.

“I’m thinking of asking Newt to move in with me.” It was a sudden jerk away from their previous topic of the neighbours and their overgrown wisteria. His mother waited to see if he’d say any more but nothing was forthcoming.

“Okay.” She said tentatively and waited.

“Just, I don’t even know. I know it’s rushed. But, it feels right? I spend most evenings with him now and I miss him when he’s not around. He’s slept round a few times, I’ve slept in his case too. Do you think he’ll find it too much too quickly?” The tones of doubt that crept into his voice were almost palpable even over the phone. Percival’s mother took a moment before she haltingly replied.

“I don’t know him as well as you. But perhaps being gentle in asking might be easier for both of you. I’ve not known you to rush head first into things so I assume you’ve given it a lot of thought.”

“I mean, half his clothes are here already, I have my own drawer and space in the wardrobe down in his case. I have a key to his place and he moves freely between the wards here. All that’s missing is giving it a name now.” Percival babbled. She’d not heard him quite so uncertain yet sure at the same time before. He’d always known what he wanted and had been certain of the steps he needed to take to achieve it. But in the matters of the heart it wasn’t just his will and skill which mattered, there was the unpredictable element of what the other person wanted.

“I guess it just depends on how eager you are to put a label on it then.”

“Is it wrong that I might be quite excited to do just that?” Percival asked quietly. His mother couldn’t hold back the fond laugh.

“Do what makes you happiest. Just let me know if there’s a good chance it won’t be you picking up the phone.”

“Thanks Ma.”

The next time Percival phones her was on Thursday, she’d just finished dinner and was trying to find a book to settle down with. Shrill ringing from the telephone had her abandoning the bookshelf and shuffling towards the phone.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Hi Ma.” Percival greeted, smile evident in his voice. “He said yes.”

It took her a minute to realise what he was referring to. When she’d understood a grin split her face in half.

“Want to tell me about it?”

“What’s there to say? I asked him, he looked pleasantly surprised then mumbled that he’d really like it. He’s moving in at the weekend but we’re going out tomorrow evening.”

That made sense, they’d have the whole weekend to get settled. She tried not to imagine too much into just how that will go – there were some things a mother shouldn’t ever think about when it came to her children.

“I’m very happy for you. You really should come down for dinner at some point. I know we’ve both been busy but we should make time.”

“You’re right. Maybe in a few weeks? We’ve got a case coming up which I can’t really talk about. But it’s been months of groundwork looking like it’s finally coming to fruition.” Percival was tired she realised. His voice had the strain of someone over worked and it was something that had gradually worked its way into it rather than the sudden exhaustion of a bad night’s sleep.

Weeks flew by. Their plans for dinner were put on hold so many times for so many reasons it fast became a running joke. Whether it was because Percival had a last minute meeting scheduled which over ran or Newt had a new creature he needed to tend to it started to sound like they were making up excused. When Percival’s mother had to cancel because of a power cut they all just sighed and agreed it perhaps just wasn’t meant to be.

The phone calls between Percival and his mother continued however. At times she’d hear Newt in the background. On one memorable occasion he was cursing u a storm and upending the house by the sounds of it, trying to find a “thieving little bugger” while Percival sat back and watched. He’d interrupt his mother every now and then to throw unhelpful guidance at Newt as to where the creature could have disappeared to.

There was an incident when Percival had been chatting to her for quite some time. In the background she thought she’d heard the approach of footsteps and the rustle of clothes but she didn’t pay a lot of attention to it, too caught up in discussing the latest radio drama with Percival. Yet when he took in a sharp gasp of breath she froze. It didn’t sound like he was in pain but his voice was tight. There were sounds of him moving around, maybe a sigh. He was also very distracted. It didn’t click just what was going on until she heard a distant, pleased little hum and Percival choked back on something he was about to say. At that point she hastily bid him goodnight but not before she overheard Percival’s admonishing tones.

“You fucking dick.”

“Sucking dick more like.” came the succinct, British reply. Young love she had thought and rolled her eyes as she put the phone down.

Newt sometimes picked the phone up, he was always courteous but a little distant like he wasn’t sure of his welcome. She tried to make polite conversation which usually fizzled out after a few minutes when Percival came to the rescue. Still, she’d heard him enough in the background and the stories Percival had told her reassured her that perhaps he was just awkward because she was his lover’s mother. Lover? Partner? Boyfriend? She realised she hadn’t a clue what term Percival preferred. Though knowing him it was either long term roommate or other half – he did always like the extremes.

It was a Wednesday night when the shrill ringing of the telephone cut through the darkness. Percival’s mother woke with a grumble. As far as she knew Percival and Newt hadn’t been out on any cases too recently so she padded to the telephone without any hurry.

“Hello?” she sighed as she picked up. There was silence on the other end.

“Hello?” she tried again, a little irate. No reply came forth. She stood by the phone, mouth pursed into a frown as the silence stretched.

“Now I don’t know what you’re playing at but this is a terribly rude hour to call at.” She started, annoyed at having been woken up for a prank call. Her rant was about to crest into a full blown telling off before she put the phone down when she heard a noise. It was a sound that sent chills down her spine, a sound that would still the heart of any mother. It was just a sniff. A broken hearted, defeated, miserable sniff that sounded too much like her son.

“Percy?” she asked softly as she sank into the chair by the phone. “Percy darling, talk to me.”

There was another sniff, a soft hiccup of breath and the rustle of a sleeve being pressed against a mouth to hold in the sobs.

“I lost him Ma.” he whispered and she could hear the phone being pulled away from his mouth as he probably curled in on himself to try and curb the tears. She could picture him in the armchair by the phone, one arm on the table holding the telephone while the other arm wrapped around his waist as he doubled over. Hair falling into his eyes which would be leaking tears as his lower lip would be pushed out a little to stop it wobbling. It made her want to drop everything and rush to his side to hold him together while he couldn’t do it for himself.

Then the words sunk in. He’d lost him. Newt. Just because she wasn’t aware of any cases any number of things could have gone wrong, one of his creatures could have panicked in the case or he could have just tripped down the stairs of MACUSA and broken his neck.

“I’m so sorry Percy.” She murmured, heart aching for a man she’d never met.

“And it’s my fault.” Percival cried, breath coming in heaves as he still fought against the tears. His mother thought over her words carefully, she didn’t want to dismiss his worries but to take on the responsibility of the death of a loved one was a sure fire road into insanity. Her silence must have taken too long.

“I told him to get out. To leave. And he did.”

Oh. Part of her relaxed at the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to support her son through a funeral he was too young to have to go through. Another part of her roared in anger at the awkward stranger who broke her son and left him to piece himself together all alone in the middle of the night.

“Tell me what happened?” she pushed. Haltingly Percival began, his voice broke at times, fresh tears and gulps of breath interrupted him but she never tried to fill in the gaps or correct him.

“We had a fight.” The defeat in his voice was almost too much the bear. “I don’t even know what had started it off. Maybe one of his creatures escaping again, it wasn’t important but it just. It escalated so quickly. Before we knew it we were yelling at each other, throwing twisted harsh truths at each other’s heads.”

“What made him leave?”

“I told him that if he was so fucking miserable here with me then perhaps he should just stuff his dumb creatures back in the case and take the first ferry back to his pathetic little island.” His voice was devoid of life as he repeated back what he’d screamed in anger and hurt. She could imagine his eyes staring straight ahead, tears streaming down his cheeks as he admitted his own downfall. “Then all he said was fine. He stormed into our bedroom, I heard him shove a few things into his case and he left. At the door he turned. I thought he was going to ask to stay. Instead he pulled the key from his coat pocket and placed it on the sideboard before the door slammed shut behind him. I lost him. He’s gone.”

“Oh Percy.” She didn’t know what to say. To reassure him that Newt would return was to ignite false hope which would only hurt twice as much if it turned out to be false.

“Do you need me to come up for a few days?” she eventually settled on.

“No. The house is a mess. A few plates might have flown against the wall. Plus I’ve got to work anyway.”

“What about the weekend?” she pressed.

“I’ll be fine by then. I have to be.” Percival answered flatly. His mother wasn’t convinced but there was nothing more she could do.

“You could always come down for the weekend, a change of scenery and all that.” She offered.

“Thanks Ma, but I’ll be fine. I’m sorry I woke you, I’m not sure why I called.”

“Because you’re my son and I love you no matter what. And I always want to hear from you, the good and the bad. No matter the time or the place. I for one am glad you called.”

“Thanks Ma.” Percival sounded dangerously close to a fresh wave of tears. “I’ll let you sleep now. Good night.”

Before she could reply the phone went down. She sighed and stared at the handset for a moment longer then gently placed it back in its cradle. After a moment’s thought she put a note in her diary to call him on Saturday morning if she hadn’t heard from him by then – which was more likely than not.

Her predictions were absolutely right. On Friday evening the phone stayed silent as expected. She rose with the sun on Saturday and pottered around the house. There was some hope in her that perhaps Percival would have a lie in with the wish that sleep would grant him a little longer away from the heartache. Shortly before eleven she sat down in her chair and dialled his number. The phone rang. And rang. It continued its steady shrill for longer than she expected. Surely Percival wasn’t still in bed. Maybe he’d gone out but that wasn’t like him really. Finally she heard the receiver click off the cradle.

“Hello?” a breathless voice panted. A very British breathless voice.

“Newt.” Her tone was icy and as unfriendly as she could make it. She heard him gulp.

“Mrs. Graves.” His mild panic sent a shiver of thrill through her, she still had it. The disapproving maternal tones which froze children in place well into adulthood.

“I’d like to speak to my son please.” She informed him tersely.

“I’ll get him for you.” Newt replied. To his credit he didn’t cower, didn’t whisper or even try to worm his way back into her good graces. Given time she’d thaw out with him again but he’d hurt her son so he was going to suffer. There were low murmurs on the other end of the line, hurried footsteps approach the phone.

“Ma?” Percival asked cautiously.

“Percy. How are you?” she asked earnestly.

“I’m good. Better than good.” A smile warmed his voice.

“Did he come crawling back?”

“Not quite, no.”

“Don’t tell me you searched him out and begged him to return. You deserve better than that.” She admonished in disappointment. No man deserved the grovelling of her son.

“Actually, it was a work colleague who knocked our heads together on Thursday morning. Newt went to stay with some friends that night. Sisters. One of them works with us while the other is in a different department. Well, it’s the other one who marched Newt into my office and then locked the door so we could talk.”

“And?”

“So we talked.” Percival sounded reluctant to divulge more details.

“Did he apologise?”

“We both did. Ma, could we not do this now please?” Percival didn’t beg but it was a close thing.

“I just want to know what happened. That’s all.”

“Fine. We shoved everything off my desk and had angry make-up sex in my office.” Percival snapped. They both sat in stunned silence at the outburst. “Oh fuck. I’m sorry Ma. I didn’t mean to say that.”

There was quiet snickering in the background on his end. Something clicked in her mind and she drew in a sharp inhale of breath

“I’m going to guess I interrupted something this morning too. You’re not usually one to snap like that.” His silence was telling enough and she held back a groan. “Right, in three weeks’ time you’re taking the weekend to come down here for lunch. I’ll clear my schedule and you’d better do the same.”

“Just me?” Percival questioned softly.

“Up to you, bring Newt if he’s still around otherwise it will just be the two of us catching up like we should have done weeks ago.”

The conversation ended swiftly after that as they said their goodbyes. Three weeks passed by at a relative speed. Percival still called at the end of each week. The evening before they were meant to head down for lunch Percival called her for a quick chat. He didn’t sound distracted but his mother knew that something didn’t quite sound right.

“What are you up to Percy?”

“Huh? Nothing. Just got home, late night at the office. Eating grapes. Sorry.”

“Is Newt with you?” she asked.

“Yes.” Percival was cautiously puzzled. The sound of a grape being plucked off the stem travelled down the line.

“He doesn’t mind you working late?”

“No, should he?” Percival replied, but it didn’t sound like he had his mouth full. She could hear the shift of two bodies though and the scrape of a plate over the table. Knowledge of his house allowed her to draw a conclusion quickly. There was only one chair by the phone, for both of them to reach the grapes on the table they both had to sit. Which didn’t leave many options. Idiots in love she fumed.

“Not really. I just thought he might have wanted to eat sooner.”

“Nah,” Percival mumbled as something was pressed against his lips, “we’re both eating grapes.”

“Uhuh. You mean he’s sat in your lap feeding you while you feed him, am I right?”

“Maybe.” Came the embarrassed reply after a moment.

“Well, I’ll let you get on with that then. Remember, tomorrow lunch. Don’t be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it Ma. G’night.”

The next day Percival’s mother had everything set out and ready by the time the doorbell rang. She went to the door and opened it. Her son stood there with a proud smile, arm curled around the waist of a taller, slender man who momentarily glanced up at her with a shy smile before looking down at the ground.

“Ma,” Percival began, “I’d like you to meet Newt.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come prod me for a chat on tumblr if you fancy - @ladyoftheshrimp


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